Although only about 20 percent of the child’s remains was recovered, leaving the sex unknown, the researchers discovered teeth that indicate the child was about 3 years old.

Photo

Scientists discovered the cremated skeleton of a child in an ancient dwelling in central Alaska.Credit
Ben A. Potter

The oval fire pit in the home also appears to have been a cooking hearth, based on remains of salmon and other small animals in the area. After the child died, he or she was placed face up in the pit and cremated. The pit and the home were most likely never used again.

“We can infer that they probably abandoned the house when the child was cremated,” said Ben A. Potter an archaeologist at the University of Alaska and the study’s lead author. “It was the final layer, and there’s nothing to indicate that they stirred around the fire anymore.”

It isn’t clear how many people lived in the home, but given the child’s age, there were probably adult women acting as caretakers, Dr. Potter said.

Prior research has indicated that people in the area hunted large game, but the new findings suggest that smaller animals were also a part of the diet.

Dr. Potter and his colleagues now hope to retrieve DNA samples from the child’s remains and investigate genetic links to other ancient and living communities.

A version of this article appears in print on March 1, 2011, on page D3 of the New York edition with the headline: Child’s Remains Reveal Ice Age Burial Practices. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe